Let’s face it: Racking up arbitrary badges and mayorships for your favorite bars and restaurants can only get you so far. And why should you have to check into a bar ten times before getting a free basket of fries? Enter Wompin: a free app that allows users a chance to win cool prizes instantly at your favorite businesses (think: free appetizers, drinks, a percentage off your bill, etc.).

Second: It’s location-based, so as soon as you open it and sign up—simply through Facebook—you’ll see the closest participating restaurants, bars and businesses to you. And if you’re a more visual person like me, click the “Map” button at the top right hand corner to see how far they are from you. Here’s some examples of deals you could win near our office:

And third: When you chose a participating business, hit “Play” in its mini-profile page. You’ll immediately be prompted to play a one-off game of chance: Rip the paper, Pick a card, Shot in the dark, Open the Box, Pick a cup… you get the idea—and if you win, you have two minutes to redeem your prize after playing with an employee. It’s that simple!

You can save your favorite locations, create a profile, invite friends to play along and brag about wins by sharing on Facebook and Twitter.

What did we do here in the Doejo labs?

Wompin, which launched in beta in April 2012, ups the ante on business loyalty and social check-ins. The location-based iOS and Android mobile game was conceived by co-founders Andy Benson (CEO) and Luke Blahnik (COO) with help from team Doejo consulting on functionality, business model and design.

On the business side, owners have control over what specific rewards or promotions to give out while also regulating the odds of winning. So, a bar can opt to give a free appetizer to one in eight participating Wompin users. And since the app is location-based and can only be played once in 24 hours, it get’s customers—new or loyal—in the door without users just playing until they win. Businesses can also leverage the platform to set recurring promotions, special offers and message customers simply as well.

The ideation phase of Wompin wasn’t wrought overnight though. Our team, especially our CEO and serial business owner Phil Tadros, helped engender the app’s game-play and functionality. Our designers came up with quick win games as our developers mastered the customizable odds-of-winning ration and back-end algorithm. For the branding and identity, we channeled retro joysticks and map-based pins for a logo mark that embodied the social-gaming app’s playful side.

We even connected Wompin with a sales and marketing assistant to help sign-up businesses, starting in Chicago’s youngest neighborhoods Lakeview and Lincoln Park. Wompin is currently branching out throughout Chicago with plans to go nationwide.

To help visually explain the concept to both users and businesses, our video team created two, 45-second motion graphic videos for the Wompin marketing site. These videos hone in on Wompin’s playful and location-based attributes and inspire business owners to take advantage of Wompin’s engaging opportunities.

Even before an official launch, the early reviews have been stellar: “This app has changed the way I choose restaurants & bars. Oh, you’re the mayor of that bar? Well, I just won a free drink!! Bye bye Foursquare…” on iTunes, and “This is great! Play a fun game and win free drinks and food!?! No reason not to download this one, I put it right on my main screen,” on Android forums.